Science SLO Practice

A student was visiting a natural history museum when she saw that following picture and data table hanging on the wall. Which of the following would be the most correct inference that student could draw about the unknown substance?

• The unknown substance is a mineral because it is solid.
• The unknown  substance is not a mineral because it has both a definite chemical composition and chemical structure.
• The unknown substance is not a mineral because it is organic.
• The unknown substance is a mineral because it is naturally occurring.

The mineral in the table that has blue color and will scratch garnet is

• Pyrite
• Garnet
• Magnetite
• Topaz

Which information would probably be most helpful to someone trying to identify a mineral sample?

• Location and mass of the sample.
• Shape and texture of the sample.
• Hardness and streak of the sample.
• Color and size of the sample.

A geologist was attempting to identify an unknown mineral. He took the mineral and scratched it against an unglazed tile. The geologist noticed that a greenish-black streak was left on the tile. Which mineral property was the geologist testing?

• streak
• hardness
• crystal structure
• specific gravity / density

Pyrite is often called fool's gold because it has a similar color and looks metallic like gold. Sheen is how light reflects off a surface. When identifying an unknown mineral which mineral property is a qualitative observation of how light reflects off the minerals surface?

• density
• luster
• cleavage
• streak

The crystal size of an igneous rock is determined by the rate at which the magma in the rock cools. Magma that cools quickly, just below the Earth's surface produces:

• glassy textures
• coarse crystals
• pahoehoe
• finer crystals

Coal, a nonrenewable fossil fuel, is used to generate 69.7% of the electricity in Ohio. Coal is burned to produce heat, which converts water into high-pressure steam. The steam turns the blades of a turbine that is connected to a generator. The generator spins and converts mechanical energy to electricity. Which of the following processes best describes how coal found in Ohio was formed?

• Ohio was once covered by a shallow sea. Coal was formed by the skeletal fragments of marine organisms.
• Around 300 million years ago plants living in swampy areas died and became peat. The peat was buried, compressed and became coal.
• Decomposing farm plants from the early 19th century were buried and compressed to make the coal we use today.
• Dinosaurs died and were buried. Over thousands of years the bodies of the dinosaurs were compressed and coal was formed.

Metamorphic rock which has bands of minerals is called

• foliated
• non-foliated
• intrusive
• extrusive

A student was on a field trip to a park just outside Cincinnati, Ohio. She finds a rock which has a fossil of a large fish in it. What is the most likely rock type that the student found in the park?

• Igneous
• Sedimentary
• Metamorphic
• Extrusive

When a volcano erupts, melted rock flows over the surface of Earth. When this melted rock solidifies it forms 

• Igneous rock
• Sedimentary rock
• Metamorphic rock
• Magma rock